Heinrichs Names Roster for First CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup; USA Will Face Brazil in Opening Round; China in Opposite Bracket
CHICAGO (Tuesday, June 13, 2000) - The U.S. Women's National Team will bring a fully-stocked roster to the first CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup as head coach April Heinrichs has named virtually the same team that won the Pacific Cup in Australia last weekend. Thirteen members of the 1999 Women
June 13, 2000
The CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, a historic first for women's soccer in this region, will pit the world champions against both ends of the international women's soccer spectrum. The USA will face minnows Trinidad & Tobabo and Costa Rica, but also square off against Women's World Cup bronze medalists Brazil and a potential meeting with China awaits as both teams are expected to advance out of their groups.
Heinrichs made just two changes from her Pacific Cup roster, adding Scurry in place of Jenni Branam and calling up forward Susan Bush to replace midfielder Aly Wagner. The confederation championship is the first of its kind for women in this region, although qualifying tournaments for all three Women's World Cups were held, with the USA winning in '91 and '95, while Canada took home the title in '99. The Women's Gold Cup will have the added dimension of China and Brazil as guest teams, giving the tournament the top three finishers at the 1999 Women's World Cup.
The USA defeated Brazil in the semifinals of the 1999 Women's World Cup, 2-0, before triumphing over China in the Final Game. The USA has played Brazil twice since the Women's World Cup, winning 5-0 in Denver, Colo. last September and 4-2 in Louisville, Ky., during the 1999 NIKE Women's Cup. The Americans played China on May 31 in Australia marking the first meeting of the two teams since the Women's World Cup Final. The USA lost 1-0 on a late Sun Wen penalty kick, but rebounded to win the tournament after Canada shocked China with a penalty kick victory. China will gets its chance for revenge at the Gold Cup, facing Canada in group play. China lists Wen, the 1999 Women's World Cup MVP, as doubtful for the Gold Cup after she stretched a knee ligament during that loss to Canada. She is expected to be out for three weeks, but will be ready for competition far in advance of the Olympic tournament.
The USA has played Trinidad & Tobago four times in its history, but not since an 11-1 thrashing in August of 1994 during the CONCACAF Women's World Cup qualifying tournament, a match that featured a bench-clearing brawl, the only such incident in the history of the U.S. Women's National Team. The tournament will mark the first ever meeting between the USA and Costa Rica, but also a valuable experience for the growth of the developing women's soccer nations in CONCACAF.
Eight of the Women's Gold Cup matches will be broadcast by ESPN and ESPN2 in English while Galavision will broadcast nine in Spanish. The Pan American Sports Network will be sending the Spanish feed into at least an additional 14 countries. The TV coverage makes the Women's Gold Cup the most widely broadcast women's soccer event other than the 1999 Women's World Cup, and features more extensive TV coverage than either the 1991 or 1995 Women's World Cups received.
| United States Women's National Team Roster CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup 2000 | |||||||
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Birthdate | Hometown | College/Club | Caps/Goals |
| 1 | Scurry, Briana | GK | 5-8 | 9/7/71 | Dayton, Minn. | UMass | 99/0 |
| 2 | Fair, Lorrie | M | 5-3 | 8/5/78 | Los Altos, Calif. | UNC | 64/5 |
| 3 | Pearce, Christie | D | 5-6 | 6/24/75 | Pt. Pleasant, N.J. | Monmouth | 66/4 |
| 5 | Serlenga, Nikki | M | 5-5 | 6/20/78 | San Diego, Calif. | Santa Clara | 10/2 |
| 6 | Chastain, Brandi | D | 5-7 | 7/21/68 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara | 119/23 |
| 7 | Whalen, Sara | M | 5-5 | 4/28/76 | Greenlawn, N.Y. | UConn | 53/3 |
| 8 | MacMillan, Shannon | M | 5-5 | 10/7/74 | Escondido, Calif. | Portland | 103/29 |
| 9 | Hamm, Mia | F | 5-5 | 3/17/72 | Chapel Hill, N.C. | UNC | 195/118 |
| 11 | Foudy, Julie | M | 5-6 | 1/23/71 | Mission Viejo, Calif. | Stanford | 177/34 |
| 12 | Parlow, Cindy | F | 5-11 | 5/08/78 | Memphis, Tenn. | UNC | 79/37 |
| 13 | Lilly, Kristine | M | 5-4 | 7/22/71 | Wilton, Conn. | UNC | 204/84 |
| 14 | Fawcett, Joy | D | 5-6 | 2/8/68 | Huntington Beach, Calif. | UCB | 164/22 |
| 16 | Milbrett, Tiffeny | F | 5-2 | 10/23/72 | Portland, Ore. | Portland | 143/73 |
| 19 | Slaton, Danielle | D | 5-6 | 6/10/80 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara | 15/1 |
| 20 | Sobrero, Kate | D | 5-7 | 8/23/76 | Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | UND | 44/0 |
| 22 | Welsh, Christie | F | 5-10 | 2/27/81 | Massapequa Park, N.Y. | Penn State | 13/9 |
| 23 | Bush, Susan | F | 5-4 | 11/10/80 | Houston, Texas | North Carolina | 7/1 |
| 26 | Mullinix, Siri | GK | 5-8 | 5/22/78 | Greensboro, N.C. | North Carolina | 11/0 |
